Walter Hundley
There will be an automatic recount in Tuesday’s South Carolina Senate District 41 election after a razor-thin margin.
More than 5,100 voters came out to decide the successor to longtime former Sen. Glenn McConnell, who unwillingly resigned his seat to become Lt. Governor earlier this year. That is fewer than 10% of the district’s voters. The election was the only issue on the ballot.
According to the results from the State Election Commission, Republican Walter Hundley beat out Democrat Paul Tinkler by just 14 votes. The Charleston County Board of Elections will meet Friday morning at 10 a.m. to review the vote and certify a winner.
Paul Tinkler
Tinkler led most of the early returns, but Hundley eventually won after results from a heavily-Republican Seabrook Island precinct arrived late. 21 ballots have also been challenged so far.
If he does hold on, Hundley will fill out the rest of the term through November. He is not running for the seat again after that. Instead, Tinkler will face Republican Paul Thurmond and a possible pair of petition candidates for a new four-year term.
Sheree Bernardi of Charleston affiliate WTMA contributed to this report.
